Two brothers, playing superheros in their room, ended up in a heated argument. The younger one yelled, "I'm going to hurt you with my doodoo doll!"

The child decided to take out his vengeance on his older brother by doing all kinds of things to a stuffed animal that he held in his hand. He called this stuffed animal his "doodoo doll." He imagined he could inflict pain upon his enemy through an inanimate object.

I laughed when a friend told me this story. We know the younger brother meant "voodoo doll," but what he said sounded comical. Then I thought: I've had those kinds of days that I could put into the "doodoo" category -- especially when I've felt like a pin cushion for another person's animosity.

This story poses an important question, though. How do we handle a person who sees us as an object of their hate and is bent on verbally destroying us? I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-42 about turning the other cheek, which, many times is easier said than done.

The only way not to have a "doodoo day," from someone who is bent on making our life miserable, is by responding to him or her with kindness. When this happens, our "doodoo day" becomes a "do-do day," and we reap the benefits of demonstrating another facet of God's forgiving love.